Chapter 302 THE VOICE ON THE WIRE
Chapter 302 THE VOICE ON THE WIRE
The voice is gone.
But I can still hear it.
Now you need to know why your mother chose him.
I stare at the communication device.
Nothing.
Just a dead screen.
But my heart is still racing.
I slowly turn toward Marco.
He isn't looking at me.
He's staring at the device like it just brought a dead man back from the grave.
"Who was that?"
Marco says nothing.
Amani steps closer.
"Marco."
My brother finally looks up.
And the fear in his eyes tells me everything.
He knows the voice.
My stomach drops.
"You know him."
Marco looks away.
"Not exactly."
"Don't."
My voice is low.
"Don't start giving me half-answers again."
Ghost picks up the device.
"I need to check something."
Amani nods.
Ghost begins examining the old equipment.
I keep my eyes on Marco.
"Who was that?"
"I don't know if the voice was genuine."
Ghost looks up.
"It was."
Marco turns.
"What?"
Ghost points to the device.
"The transmission didn't come through a modern relay. It used the original Silver Wolf frequency."
My blood runs cold.
"So someone has access to the old network?"
"Maybe."
Ghost shakes his head.
"Could be old equipment. Could be someone who knows the frequency. Could be someone with access to the original network."
I look at Marco.
"Which one scares you?"
He doesn't answer immediately.
Then he says:
"The first."
I frown.
"Why?"
"Because if the person has the original equipment..."
He looks toward the dead device.
"...they may have been there from the beginning."
Silence fills the warehouse.
Amani's expression hardens.
"Meaning?"
Marco looks at him.
"Meaning they aren't learning this from old files."
His eyes return to me.
"They lived it."
A chill runs down my spine.
Before I can respond, the device crackles.
Everyone freezes.
The screen flickers.
Static fills the room.
Then the same voice returns.
Calm.
Controlled.
Close.
Too close.
"You want answers about your mother."
I step toward the device.
"Who are you?"
Silence.
I wait.
Nothing.
Then the voice returns.
"Someone who failed her."
My heart pounds.
"What did you do?"
No answer.
"Did you betray her?"
Static.
"Did you give Antonio the escape route?"
Nothing.
I step closer.
"Who are you?"
The transmission cuts.
I stare at the device.
That was not a threat.
It was something worse.
An invitation.
Someone wants me to keep asking questions.
Amani comes beside me.
"Don't trust this."
"I don't."
"Then don't follow the trail."
I look at him.
"What if this is the only trail we have?"
"Then we find another."
I shake my head.
"No."
His eyes narrow.
"I need to know."
"I know."
"No, Amani."
I turn toward him.
"I need to know what happened to my mother."
His expression softens.
"I know."
I look away.
Then I remember the words.
Why your mother chose him.
I turn back to Marco.
"Who did she choose?"
Marco's face tightens.
"I don't know."
I stare at him.
"The voice said my mother chose someone."
"She trusted someone."
"Who?"
Marco hesitates.
"Someone who could get you through the Silver Wolf network safely."
"Gabriel?"
He shakes his head.
"Not necessarily."
"Then who?"
"I can't tell you."
My anger flares.
"Why?"
"Because knowing the name could get you killed."
I laugh bitterly.
"So could the lies."
Marco flinches.
"You keep telling me you're protecting me."
I step closer.
"But every secret you've kept has put me in more danger."
He doesn't answer.
I turn away.
My head is pounding.
And then—
Another memory.
The warehouse disappears.
I'm standing inside my father's study.
I'm younger.
Much younger.
My mother stands near the desk.
Gabriel Kane is in front of her.
He's calm.
She's furious.
"You promised me the route was clean."
Gabriel's face doesn't change.
"It was."
"You told me nobody knew."
"Nobody did."
My mother steps closer.
"Then how did Antonio find out?"
Gabriel's jaw tightens.
"I don't know."
She stares at him.
Then suddenly looks toward the door.
Her expression changes.
Not fear of Gabriel.
Fear of someone listening.
I turn toward the doorway.
There's a shadow.
Someone is standing outside.
I try to see the face.
I can't.
The memory breaks.
I gasp.
Amani catches my shoulder.
"Zuri."
I blink rapidly.
Marco is staring at me.
"What did you see?"
"Gabriel."
His face changes.
"What about him?"
"He was talking to my mother."
"About the escape?"
I nod.
"She said the route was clean."
Marco goes still.
"What else?"
"She asked how Antonio found out."
His eyes narrow.
"And?"
"I couldn't see who was outside the door."
Marco looks at Ghost.
Then at Amani.
Then back at me.
"Gabriel may not have been the one who betrayed her."
My heart drops.
"What?"
"He could have been receiving information from someone else."
I stare at him.
"So he wasn't the source."
"Maybe not."
"Then who was?"
Marco shakes his head.
"I don't know."
This time, I believe him.
And somehow that scares me more.
Because if Marco doesn't know...
then the person behind all of this is still ahead of us.
"Someone inside Silver Wolf knew about the route before Antonio did."
Marco nods.
"That's what I'm thinking."
"And Gabriel?"
"Could have been a link."
"Not the beginning."
"Maybe."
I look down at the photograph.
My mother.
Voss.
Samuel.
Marco.
Gabriel.
Everyone connected to the night my life changed.
"Then Samuel knew."
Marco's eyes lift.
"Maybe."
"He was investigating the betrayal."
"Yes."
"If he survived..."
Marco's expression hardens.
"...he could know who exposed the route."
The warehouse suddenly feels smaller.
Samuel could be the missing piece.
If he survived.
I don't allow myself to hope.
Hope has hurt me too many times.
Ghost suddenly looks at the device.
"Got something."
Amani walks toward him.
"What?"
Ghost points to the signal data.
"The transmission didn't originate here."
"Where?"
He brings up a map.
A single location appears.
Outside the city.
An abandoned communications station.
My stomach tightens.
I know that place.
"Silver Wolf?"
Ghost nods.
"Old station."
Amani immediately turns.
"We move now."
I stop him.
"No."
He looks at me.
"We don't know who's waiting."
"Exactly."
He studies me.
I'm not going to walk blindly into another trap.
Not anymore.
"We investigate first."
Ghost nods.
"We can approach without triggering the main channel."